Regragui: 'I Feel No Pressure; In 2022, Someone Like Me Said We Could Achieve Something with Belief'

National coach Walid Regragui affirmed that the Morocco U20 national team's World Cup triumph, along with the Morocco B team's Arab Cup victory two days prior, does not exert any pressure on him ahead of the start of the Africa Cup of Nations 'Morocco 2025'.

Speaking at the press conference preceding the match against Comoros, Regragui stated: "I don't feel pressure in football. Football is a sport you must live. Since my arrival to the national team in 2022, my idea has been to change the mentality of the Moroccan fan and Moroccan football."

He added: "Before, we used to participate just to see the Moroccan flag. We would draw against Spain and go out into the streets to celebrate, then if we qualified for the World Cup or Africa Cup, we would go out into the streets. Then in 2022, a crazy person like me came and told them, 'Yes, if you have belief, we can achieve something,' and they started to believe in it."

He continued: "Now, there isn't a single Moroccan who won't tell you we must win the Africa Cup or even the World Cup. Before 2022, if you asked a Moroccan if they wanted to win the World Cup, they would tell you you're crazy. But now, they believe in winning and demand to achieve the World Cup and Africa Cup. We have entered a new era, and this is the new Morocco, where we must always win. There is no pressure; rather, we are the ones who wanted to be at this level, because we are the ones who started this era, and we must continue in the same vein. We want Morocco to remain at this level, not to say that what happened was by chance."

Regragui concluded: "This is the new Morocco we want, and this leap forward should not only be in football but in all fields. By going out in Moroccan cities, thank God, you will see the changes that have occurred thanks to His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who gave us this motivation to work and be at this level."

It is worth noting that tomorrow, Sunday, marks the official start of the Africa Cup of Nations 'Morocco 2025', where the Moroccan national team will face Comoros at 20:00 (GMT+1) at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.